Gone Are the Days In Which You Faded Away
by FireBlaze401
Summary: Jason catches wind of the fading incident. Needless to say, he isn't pleased and makes it his personal mission to make sure Nico is happy and healthy. In the process, Jason may have earned himself more than a friend in the son of Hades. Jasico. Mentions of panic attacks and nightmares.
**This is really sad because I told myself this would be 3k words. Clearly, that did not happen. But yeah. Have a monstrosity of a oneshot that I wrote because I was out of practice.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HOO. Rick Riordan does.**

 **Read and Review!**

* * *

Jason walked to the infirmary, whistling the tune of a song he had heard on the radio a while back. The war with Gaea was over and he couldn't be happier. The Greeks and Romans had reconciled and the beginnings of a beautiful friendship and alliance were in the making. But what made today particularly cheery was the fact that today was the day that Nico was due to be released from the infirmary. Jason had tried his damned best to convince the son of Hades to stay behind at camp, insisting time and time again that he had friends here and that he wasn't as alone as he thought he was. It was only now that the results of his hard work were beginning to show.

"Hey, Will! How's Nico?" he called out upon entering the room. He was instantly met with the sight of the blond son of Apollo and his black haired charge. Nico appeared to roll his eyes as Will grinned at Jason.

"He's doing pretty well actually. It took him forever to actually sit down and rest but once he finally did, it wasn't anything too serious," Will explained.

Jason grinned and affectionately punched Nico in the forearm. "Dude, that's great! So he's cleared to leave, then?" he asked.

Will gave a nod while Nico grumbled, "As if you could keep me here any longer than necessary." Jason gave a laugh at that and watched as Nico grabbed his sword from his tableside and stood. As Nico changed from the white clothes the Apollo had given him into his normal clothes, Jason turned to give him some privacy. He started when he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder and turned to find Will, his cheerful demeanor from earlier gone.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Do you know _why_ Nico was in the infirmary?" Will whispered.

Now that Will mentioned it, no, he didn't.

"No… What happened?"

Will sighed. "Well he had some nasty gashes on his arm from a run in with werewolves," he began and gave an amused smile when he saw Jason's eyebrows raise. "But the main concern was how he was fading."

" _Fading_?" Jason repeated incredulously.

"Yeah," Will affirmed grimly. "I heard it from Coach Hedge and Reyna. He was literally _fading out of existence_. It was an overuse of shadow travel." Meeting Jason's concerned gaze, Will offered a small smile. "He should be fine now. There's always a risk of a relapse, but I've never dealt with anything like this before…"

"What are you guys whispering about over there?" Nico asked. Jason nearly jumped when he turned around to face Nico.

"Nothing! I was just asking Will how things have been in here since a lot of people were injured during the war," Jason lied nervously.

Will however, got the message clearly. "Yeah. We've been even busier than during the Titan War, and that's saying something."

"Well the number of patients has doubled," Nico pointed out and both blonds hummed in agreement.

"Anyway, I'm leaving. See you around, Solace. Grace."

* * *

"Nico, wait up!"

"Didn't I say bye to you thirty seconds ago, Grace?"

"Maybe, but I was wondering if you wanted to hang out for a while?"

Nico hesitated to answer. Jason could see that he _wanted_ to make the effort to be friends, which Jason was ecstatic about, but he wasn't quite ready to trust Jason.

"Depends on what we would be doing," Nico finally answered.

Jason grinned. "I'm fine with anything you want to do."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Really now?"

"Yeah."

"And if I wanted to raise the undead to spar?"

"I'd have your back."

"If I wanted to redecorate my cabin?"

"I can help lift furniture."

"If I wanted to shadow travel to Manhattan?"

At this, Jason hesitated. Should Nico be shadow travelling so soon? Nico had just gotten out of the infirmary with a clean bill of health, or as clean as it could be found given the nature of his ailment, but Jason couldn't help but be concerned.

"I wouldn't mind," Jason answered slowly. The sudden hesitance made Nico raise an eyebrow but nevertheless, he just continued walking in the direction that he had been. "So what is it that we're going to be doing?"

"I was thinking of redecorating my cabin. I'm not going to be the only one staying in it and I'm sure Hazel would like some things of her own."

Jason nodded. "Where are you going to get the furniture?"

"I was going to shadow travel to Manhattan, buy the furniture then shadow back here. You don't have to come along if you don't want to."

Even though the idea of Nico shadow travelling so soon made him concerned, Jason decided to trust him on this. "I don't mind. It's not like I have better things to be doing anyway. Besides, maybe I can help you pick stuff out for Hazel?" Jason offered.

Nico scoffed. "You think that you know what my own sister would like better than I do? Those are fighting words, Grace."

Jason smirked. "You're not the only one with a sister, di Angelo."

At this, Nico grinned and Jason cheered a little on the inside. "Well, let's get to Half Blood Hill. It'll reduce the distance we have to travel."

Just as the two approached the border, Jason suddenly stopped.

"Nico, have you told Chiron that you were leaving?"

Nico stopped in his tracks and looked back. "No. Why?"

"You have to tell him you're going! What if he looks for you and he doesn't know where you are?"

"Why in the world would Chiron look for me?" Nico asked.

"That's beside the point! You still have to tell him!"

"Gods, Grace, why are you being so difficult?!"

"I won't complain if you tell Chiron where you're going."

"And if I refuse?" Nico growled, annoyed.

"Then I'll tell Percy, Will and Hazel that you left without saying anything."

Nico paled. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me," Jason challenged.

The two stood off before Nico finally sighed and ran his hand through his curly black locks.

" _Fine._ You win, Grace," Nico grumbled as he turned and stomped his way toward the Big House. Jason smirked in triumph when he was sure that Nico couldn't see him.

A few minutes later they were standing in the middle of Ikea. They immediately set out for the beds, looking for something that would fit Hazel first. In a matter of minutes, Nico had his choice. He pointed out to Jason a beautiful bunk bed with a mahogany frame. The headboard was decorated with carvings of horses reared up facing each other. Seeing this, Jason had to admit defeat.

"Ok, fine. I wouldn't be able to find anything that could beat that. You're just lucky you saw it first, di Angelo."

Nico rolled his eyes and snorted.

Shopping for Nico proved to be a little more difficult. The son of Hades was nothing if not particular about where he slept. Every bed that Jason pointed out that he thought Nico might like had some microscopic problem with it that suddenly made it ineligible to Nico. It got to the point where Jason got frustrated and pointed out a hot pink bunk bed. Nico made a sound of disgust.

"Really?" he asked, disbelievingly. Jason was too exasperated to care.

"Why does it matter what the bed looks like? You're asleep when you use it anyway!" Jason asked.

"Well would you buy just any bed?" Nico shot back. Jason had no response and just shut his mouth before he said something stupid. Again. Nico sighed. "A bed can say a lot about someone, especially if it's got a wooden frame instead of a metal one. The designs speak volumes about somebody's likes, dislikes and…"

Jason turned when Nico suddenly cut himself off. Nico stood entranced as he stared at the bed in front of them. It was a silver bunk bed. The covers that were on display were a shade of soft green. Honestly speaking, Jason wouldn't have pegged this to be in Nico's taste. But when the younger demigod walked up to it and put his hand up to the frame almost reverently, Jason knew that this bed was special. He walked up to Nico and stood behind him quietly.

"That one?" he asked.

"Yeah," Nico answered, barely audible.

* * *

After the two paid for the beds using Nico's allowance—seriously, Jason should ask Jupiter for one too, even if he wasn't the god of wealth— that he got from Hades, Nico shadowed them back to camp in front of the Hades cabin.

And then proceeded to crumple to the floor in a heap.

Jason barely caught the boy before he hit the ground.

"Whoa! You ok, Nico?" The boy in question nodded before roughly shrugging Jason off of him.

"I just haven't done that in a while. I'm out of practice." Jason could've sworn he heard a muttered _no thanks to Solace_ but chose wisely not to comment.

"Here, just take a break for a while. I'll move your stuff inside."

Nico opened his mouth to protest but ended up closing it after being on the receiving end of Jason's disapproving glare. The son of Hades frowned but leaned up against the side of the cabin and closed his eyes. Jason watched for a while to make sure that Nico was _actually_ resting before turning back to the two beds sitting in front of him.

"Now then… let's get to work."

Moving the beds took a lot longer than Jason thought it would, partially because Jason also decided to assemble them for Nico.

Whoever made those instructions did not make them dyslexic-demigod-friendly.

Jason finally exited the Hades cabin three hours after he had entered it. He looked around for any sign of Nico before checking the side of the cabin where Jason had left him. Jason smiled at the sight that greeted him.

Curled up and snuggled under his aviator's jacket was the Ghost King in all his adorable glory.

Jason took a seat next to Nico and watched him sleep peacefully. Like this, the terrifying son of Hades looked his age and not boggled down by everything that life had thrown at him. Nico looked like a normal 14 year old boy. Jason frowned when he realized that he needed to see Nico _asleep_ to see him as the child that he was.

Nico's brow furrowed as he shifted to face Jason. A quiet mumble escaped past his lips as he burrowed deeper underneath his aviator's jacket. Jason smiled and brushed away some of Nico's dark curls from his face. Nico stirred and Jason froze in his tracks. It seemed like eons before Jason regained control of his body and managed to jerk his hand away just as Nico woke up.

"Grace?" he asked, his voice laden with sleep. "Did you need help?"

Jason chuckled to hide his discomfort. "No. I already moved everything inside and I put it all together too."

"You should've woken me up," Nico said disapprovingly.

Jason waved off the concern easily. "It's fine. The instructions made it easier."

Nico scoffed. "If anything, the instructions probably made it harder."

Curse Nico di Angelo for being dyslexic too.

"Well dinner is going to start soon. Come on, let's go," Jason prompted.

Nico groaned and followed suit.

* * *

Jason watched Nico pick at and rearrange his food from the Zeus table. Nico wasn't really eating, more so he was making food art. Narrow his eyes, he stood to scrape some of his meal into the fire, and on the way, nudged Nico none too gently. The son of Hades scowled and grabbed a forkful of peas and shoved it into his mouth, chewing angrily.

If Chiron had a problem with Jason's many trips to the Hades tables, he sure didn't voice them.

After dinner, Jason cornered Nico on the way back to his cabin.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jason demanded.

"To my cabin of course."

"Why aren't you eating?"

At this, Nico whirled around, anger on his features. "What I do and don't do is none of your business, Grace. Just leave me alone and go back to your girlfriend," he spat.

"Nico, I'm worried about you," Jason urged.

"Why do you care?" Nico laughed coldly. "Because of what happened in Croatia?" When he was met with silence, Nico growled. "I don't need your pity _or_ your friendship, Grace. Stop trying." With that, the shadows swallowed Nico up and Jason was left with the sound of crickets.

"I just don't know what to do, Pipes. I want him to have a friend," Jason said.

Piper hummed in agreement. "I don't know much about Nico, but I'm sure you'll get through to him eventually, Jason. The Sparky I know doesn't give up just because someone told him to," she said with a wink. Jason smiled and leaned over to peck her on the cheek. Someone catcalled in the background and Jason blushed, although the light of the campfire obscured it well. Piper laughed and gave him a kiss on the lips for his troubles and that made his embarrassment all worth it.

* * *

The next morning, Jason set out for Nico's cabin only to find him standing at its side and talking to none other than Percy Jackson. Percy looked awkward and his eyes kept darting to look at anything but Nico and even from a distance, Jason could tell that it wasn't because of his ADHD.

This continued for another few minutes before Nico sighed and kicked Percy in the shin. Hard.

" _Di immortales!_ " Percy swore as he held his leg gingerly. "What was that for, Nico?"

Jason watched as Nico tried for a smile. "Don't worry about it Percy. You don't have to apologise for something that you had no control over."

"But it must have hurt…"

"Perseus Jackson," Nico said sternly and Jason watched as Percy froze, mouth open to retort whatever Nico was about to say. "If you keep apologizing to me for not being able to return my feelings I'll send you to my father, resurrect you, and then send you back again."

Percy gulped and even Jason had to shiver. Their Uncle Hades was _not_ someone that they wanted to anger.

"Just treat me like you would normally. I told you, I'm over you," Nico said dismissively.

Percy nodded and as he turned, only to find himself face to face with Jason. Nico groaned.

"Yes, Grace?" he asked.

"I was going to ask if you wanted to spar…" Jason said uncertainly as he glanced up at Percy.

"In that case, I'm going to head over to Annabeth's and see if she's drowned in her blueprints yet." Percy ruffled the Nico's hair, earning him a scowl, before heading towards the Athena cabin. Nico turned to Jason and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to repair the damage that Percy had caused.

"A spar, Grace?" Nico asked. Jason could've sworn that he heard a challenge in there somewhere and so he grinned.

"Yeah. Preferably without powers, since that drains both of us too much."

Nico snorted. "Speak for yourself," he said as he started for the arena. Jason couldn't resist a smile as he followed suit.

* * *

The arena was relatively empty, save for a few campers getting in some sword practice. Jason and Nico found a decently sized space and squared off, Jason drawing his gladius and Nico drawing his Stygian Iron sword. Jason had never fought against Nico before but based on what he heard from Hazel, Nico was going to be a tough opponent. He couldn't afford to let his guard down. Even the hushed whispering that had begun after the two had entered the arena had stopped, leaving only silence. The suspense in the air was so thick you could've cut it with a knife.

And then Jason leapt forward.

Jason's strike was easily blocked by Nico, who only grinned at him. The sight was so surprising that Jason nearly let his jaw drop. But he collected himself and continued to spar.

He had forgotten what this felt like: sparring just for the fun of it and not with the fate of the world on his shoulders. He had missed the feeling of exhilaration and suspense anticipating his opponent's move. He had also missed the feeling of not having someone trying to kill you, but that could be said for anybody.

After a few minutes, Jason began to understand what Hazel had meant. Nico's movements were hard to read; harder than any opponent he had ever faced. His fighting style was neither Greek nor Roman. The second that he thought he had predicted Nico's next move, the son of Hades surprised him by doing something completely unexpected. It was one of the hardest fights Jason had been in in a long time. He was continuously pushed on the defensive.

The fight continued on until Nico suddenly switched his grip and brought his sword down on top of Jason's gladius. The second Jason tried to raise his sword, Nico flicked his wrist and sent the Imperial Gold weapon flying to the side. Jason only had time to back up before Stygian Iron was pointed at his throat. Jason raised his hands in surrender just as Nico smirked at him.

"That's that, Grace."

And then the campers around them erupted into applause.

Nico jumped, surprised and Jason took a look around. Everyone was cheering and watching with awe. Jason couldn't blame them. It wasn't every day that they saw something as amazing as two kids of the Big Three sparring.

Nico looked uncomfortable with all the attention and hid his face. Jason laughed and nudged him lightly.

"Come on! Let your adoring fans see your face, Ghost King," he teased. Nico's cheeks reddened and he frowned.

"Shut up, Grace," he said without any real malice.

* * *

After the spectacle in the arena, Jason had convinced Nico to let him in on some of his sparring secrets. The son of Hades seemed to be in a good mood, and Jason was going to milk it for all it was worth.

"I've never seen a fighting style like yours," Jason pointed out as they got to a clearing in the woods. The black haired demigod shrugged and readied his sword.

"It helps when you can summon whoever you want to teach you how to fight. I never got any training from camp so I had to resort to other means in order to learn." Jason nodded and brought his sword up. With a loud battle cry, he charged.

Jason collapsed on his back, panting for breath. The two had been sparring all afternoon and Jason had only managed to win a handful of the fights. He groaned and turned to Nico, who was lying beside him.

"This is unfair. You've learned from like everybody there is to learn from," he whined.

Nico rolled his eyes. "You've had training since you were two. It doesn't matter that you don't remember it. It's muscle memory by now."

"Didn't help me much," Jason mumbled and Nico let out a laugh, before he caught himself. Jason was staring wide-eyed at the son of Hades.

"Nico, you should laugh more!"

Nico groaned. "Maybe if there was more to laugh about," he retorted.

"I'm serious Nico! You don't laugh and smile enough! The only times I see you smile are with Hazel and when you're fighting and I've almost _never_ heard you laugh."

"Let's keep it that way."

"Nico _…_ "

"Don't push your luck, Grace." With that, Nico stood and walked away, leaving Jason groaning to himself at how stubborn the younger demigod was.

* * *

The next day, Nico was once again greeted by the unpleasant sight of Jason Grace in the morning. The blond once again had his gladius and was watching Nico expectantly. Nico sighed.

" _Yes_ , Grace?" he asked.

"Want to spar again? I had fun yesterday," Jason beamed.

Nico sighed and went back to his cabin and emerged again with his sword.

"Let's go, Grace. I have a feeling you won't stop pestering me until I do this."

Before Nico realized it, they had settled into a routine. Jason would come to his cabin after breakfast and demand that they spar for a few hours. Nico would give advice on Jason's sword fighting and, if he was in a particularly generous mood, would teach the son of Jupiter a new maneuver or two.

It was around the second week after they began this routine that Nico asked him why he was doing this.

Jason sighed. "I want to hang out with you and be your friend, Nico. But you insist on being by yourself and the only way for you to spend time with me is to get you to spar with me."

Nico turned to the side guiltily. "I…"

"Do you hate me that much, Nico?" Jason asked sadly.

"No!" Nico immediately shouted. "No, that's not it. I don't hate you, Jason."

"Then why don't you want to hang out with me?"

"I… I'm just not really used to being with people," Nico mumbled. "I haven't had any interaction with living people in long time. I'm used to being with the dead because they're the only ones that don't look at me like I'm covered in blood and sewage. So you wanting to be my friend is… different, to say the least."

Jason frowned scooted closer to Nico.

"They don't understand how amazing you are, Nico. If they would get over their prejudice, they would see that you're just as much of a hero as Percy or me, or maybe even more of one. You don't get the recognition you deserve, Nico and I hate that."

Just as Jason said that, a shadow cast itself over Nico's face.

"If you knew some of the things that I've done, you wouldn't think that."

Jason waited for elaboration, but Nico seemed to have said his fill. Jason sighed and decided to change the subject.

"In other news, you finally called me Jason!"

Nico looked the other way petulantly. "I don't know what you're talking about, Grace."

Jason grinned cheekily. "Come on, Nico! My first name isn't that bad! I'll even settle for Jay!"

"Never."

"If you don't call me by my first name, I'll be forced to call you Neeks."

"You'll be six feet under before you get to."

"Don't be so cold, Neeks."

"Grace!"

"Let loose a little, Neeks," Jason teased and watched as Nico's face flushed with both embarrassment and anger.

"Jason!"

* * *

Jason made his way to Nico's cabin the next day in an excellent mood. He counted getting Nico to call him by his first name yesterday a small victory in the pursuit of friendship. He knocked on the door and was about to greet Nico happily when he noticed something off about the other demigod.

"You feeling ok, Nico?" he asked. The son on Hades had bags underneath his eyes and his entire posture screamed exhaustion.

"I'm fine, Jason." The pale demigod didn't seem to want to continue the conversation and Jason let it drop resignedly.

Jason once again watched Nico at dinner. The son of Hades seemed to be growing a bit of an appetite, but he still wasn't eating enough for someone his age. Jason sighed and made his way to Nico, rules be damned.

"Are you sure you're feeling ok, Nico? It's been weeks and you still don't eat enough."

Nico sighed and looked up at Jason. "I'm just not very hungry most of the time. My stomach hasn't quite… gotten used to eating again since the jar." Jason blinked, surprised that Nico had willingly told him that. Then he bit his lip, attempting to think of a solution to the problem.

"Do you want to ask Will about it? I'm sure he could do something to help you."

Nico shook his head vehemently. "I don't want to see the infirmary again for as long as I live. I'll just gradually get back into it."

"You can't do that, Nico," Jason said. "Your health is at stake here, and you need to take better care of yourself. You don't have to go back to the infirmary, but promise me that you'll talk to Will." Nico nodded and turned back to his food and resumed picking at it, ignoring Jason. The son of Jupiter sighed and returned to his seat at the Zeus' table, already thinking about how he was going to approach Will.

Two days later, when it was obvious that Nico had not spoken to Will (which Jason had expected), he made his way to the infirmary and knocked on the door. A muffled "Enter," was heard and he found Will sitting on the side of the bed, bandaging a camper's arm.

"Jason! What can I do for you?" Will asked when he finished with the bandages.

"Will, do you have anything for someone who doesn't have much of an appetite? Or rather, isn't used to eating as much as they should?" Jason asked, trying but failing to mask the person's identity. Will raised an eyebrow, but thankfully didn't confirm the mystery patient's identity. He disappeared behind a curtain and came out with a bottle, which Jason took confusedly.

"I figured this would be an issue ever since I saw him in the infirmary," Will said. "If he drinks a glass of that every meal for 5 days, he should have a healthy appetite again."

Jason beamed. "Thanks, Will!"  
The son of Apollo laughed. "I'm a healer, it's what I do. Now get before you get germs in the infirmary!"

* * *

Jason approached the Hades cabin with caution, the bottle in hand. How he was going to get Nico to drink this was beyond him. The son of Hades was so obstinate that it nearly made Jason want to tear out his hair sometimes.

Just as he knocked on the door, he heard a female voice from the inside. Blinking, he knocked again, a bit louder. The door opened to reveal Nico, in all his black clad glory.

"Jason? What is it?" he asked.

"Uhh… I heard a voice inside?" Jason offered lamely.

Nico rolled his eyes and sidestepped to reveal none other than Hazel Levesque.

"Hazel! I didn't know you were here!" Jason exclaimed. Hazel smiled and stood.

"Hey there, Jason! How've you been?"

"Pretty good. Is Frank with you?"

"No, but Reyna is. Frank had to stay behind because the Legion can't be very long without a praetor and Reyna really wanted to come," Hazel explained. Jason nodded in understanding and sat down across from the daughter of Pluto. Nico closed the door behind him and took his seat next to his sister. The rest of the afternoon was spent catching up with each other.

When Nico left momentarily to go find Reyna, Hazel pulled Jason aside.

"Spill it, Jason."

"Huh?" he asked.

"What happened after the war between you and my brother? He let you into our cabin without a word and you know how…particular he is about his privacy."

Jason scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "I wouldn't stop bothering him until he finally let me in. We sparred a lot," he admitted. Contrary to Jason's expectation, Hazel laughed.

"I expected something like that. I'm glad you brought him out of his shell, Jason. Nico needs more people who care about him. He thinks he makes people uncomfortable, but if other people would just give him a chance—"

"Then they would see just how amazing he is," Jason finished. Hazel gave him a sad smile before turning to her new bed and palming the frame.

"It's a beautiful bed," she whispered. Jason didn't even have to tell her that Nico was the one who picked it out for her; he knew that she knew. Then she turned to Nico's new bed with a melancholic expression. "Do you recognize these colours?"

"I don't. I know that silver is for Diana, but that doesn't make sense and neither does the green." _Unless they were to remind him of Percy_.

Speaking of the devil, the cabin door opened to reveal none other than Percy Jackson.

"I was looking for Nico. Reyna heard that he was looking for her." His good natured grin disappeared when he caught sight of the bed Jason and Hazel were looking at. "What's that?" he asked quietly.

Both Romans raised an eyebrow at his sudden loss of enthusiasm. "This is Nico's new bed," Jason answered slowly. "Do those colours mean something?"

Percy's gaze fell to the floor. "I'm sure you guys know the silver. That's for Artemis. The green is the same green his sister Bianca's cap was."

Hazel fell silent whereas Jason was lost. Who was Bianca? When he voiced as such, he was met with pained looks from both Hazel and Percy. It was Percy who answered his question several seconds later.

"She was his older sister. Bianca di Angelo, daughter of Hades."

* * *

"Nico, it's good to see you," Reyna greeted. Nico smiled.

"Reyna. It's been a while. How are things at Camp Jupiter?" Reyna smiled.

"They're great. Frank is still a little green when it comes to praetorship, but he'll get there. I have no doubt that he will be a wonderful leader." Nico nodded in agreement. The two sat down next to each other underneath a tree and began trading stories of both camps.

It wasn't until half an hour later that they moved on to more serious matters.

"Have you told anyone about Bryce?" she asked in a hushed tone. Based on the way that Nico flinched, she guessed not.

"Nico, you have to tell someone! I know how this is weighing on your conscious and this isn't healthy. No one would judge you. You did what had to be done for peace," Reyna said. Nico shook his head, his gaze glued to the ground as if reseeing where he had banished Bryce.

"I'm a murderer, Reyna. No one would accept that. I'd be even more excluded than I already am."

"No," Reyna said firmly. "Nico, you are not a murderer. He attacked us first. If anything, what you did was self-defense."

"Self-defense is fighting weapon to weapon. Self-defense is not turning someone into a ghost and banishing him to the Underworld. He was sent to the Fields of Punishment, Reyna. It was all my fault," he said hollowly.

Reyna placed her hand on his forearm, being very careful of his personal space. "You did what you had to, Nico. And I will stand by you, even if all of Olympus were to turn on you."

Nico snorted. "They already have."

"Schist," Reyna said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "The peace lasted what, three weeks? Must be a new record."

That got a chuckle out of Nico. "Thank you, Reyna."

"Anytime."

* * *

The two demigods made their way back to the Hades cabin where they found Hazel, Jason and, surprisingly, Percy. Nico raised an eyebrow questioningly at him, but said nothing to shoo him from the cabin.

The five of them spent the day catching up with each other. Percy told them stories of places where he and Annabeth had been on quests and nearly died (aka pretty much everywhere in America) which made them all marvel at his rashness.

"I'm surprised you're not dead yet," Jason mumbled.

Percy grinned. "It's not that easy to kill me, Jason."

"Clearly," Nico muttered and everyone burst out in laughter.

* * *

Dinner was upon them and Reyna was invited to sit at the Hades table. The Hermes table was too crowded and she didn't really want to be in the center of attention sitting with Chiron and Mr.D.

"Dinner", as Nico remembered it, did not consist of his younger sister and pseudo sister shoving food onto his plate, arguing that he was "too skinny" and "too pale". He tried to argue back that he was just naturally skinny and pale, but the combined threat of Reyna and Hazel proved to be too terrifying, and in the end, he did eat most of what was on his plate. He also heard the snickering of a certain son of Jupiter and son of Poseidon, but he would deal with them later.

* * *

After the campfire, which Nico was all but dragged to, the problem of Reyna's sleeping arrangements came up. She couldn't stay with the Hermes kids but Camp Half Blood didn't have a cabin for Bellona.

"You can stay in our cabin," Hazel offered. No one else knew Reyna well enough and had room in their cabin for her to sleep. Plus, she couldn't sleep in the Poseidon or Zeus cabins because the only other people there were boys and that was apparently a huge no-no.

"But what about Nico?" Reyna asked. Hazel bit her lip. She hadn't considered the fact that Reyna wouldn't be allowed into their cabin if Nico was also sleeping there.

"Nico can spend the night with me," Jason offered. The person in question, who had been all but silent up until that moment, whipped his head around so fast that Jason was afraid he would hurt himself.

"I couldn't do that! Your father would strike me dead before I even step foot inside your cabin!" Nico shouted.

"Don't be ridiculous. He wouldn't do that, especially not with me in there with you."

"B-But I can just stay with the Hermes cabin!"

"There's no way you're staying there," everyone deadpanned. Hazel looked pleadingly at her brother.

"Please, Nico? Jason is offering and I'd feel better if you slept with him."

And that was how he found himself standing in the middle of the Zeus cabin that night.

Honestly, he was spoiling her too much.

"Nico, you ok? You look a little pale," Jason called from his bunk which was across from his. Nico gulped and nodded his head, already dreading the night. They had both decided to turn in early and Nico knew, based on what had been happening the past few nights, that he was most definitely _not_ going to be getting a good night's rest, no matter how early he went to sleep.

He watched as Jason turned on his side to face him and watched the rhythmic rise and fall of Jason's broad shoulders as he breathed.

"Are you sure?" Jason pressed.

"Yes, Jason. I'm fine."

The son of Jupiter didn't look like he wanted to accept that answer, but he did anyway, which Nico mentally thanked him for. Jason gave him another smile before closing his eyes.

"Good night, Nico."

Nico gulped. "Good night, Jason."

* * *

 _He was falling._

 _Deeper and deeper, without end, he was falling into Tartarus again. He had already screamed his lungs out; his throat felt so raw. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the fall, feeling only the hot air hitting him in the face. It was almost sickening how familiar it felt._

 _And then it was gone._

 _Nico opened his eyes and found himself standing once more. Akhlys, in all her disgusting glory, stood in front of him, crying tears and blood._

 _"Child of Hades, what more could I do to you? You are perfect! So much sorrow and pain!"_

 _Nico clenched his fists. "You aren't real. I'm not down here. This is a dream."_

 _Nyx grinned evilly before disappearing and being replaced by someone that Nico knew very well._

 _"Disgrace," Bianca spat._

 _"No… this isn't real. She chose rebirth! She can't be here! It's a dream!"_

 _"What would Father say if he knew? You'd be cast out forever."_

 _"N-No… he wouldn't!"_

 _"You're disgusting, Nico. Absolutely disgusting."_

 _"Stop it!"_

 _"Abomination."_

 _"I'm not!"_

 _"I'm glad I died. I was finally released of you."_

 _"Bia…" Nico whispered brokenly. He fell to his knees, shaking. It was his worst fear come to life. He curled up into a ball and closed his eyes, shivering._

 _When his eyes next opened, he could see nothing. He tried to move, only to find himself restricted by thick walls._

 _He was trapped._

 _Outside, he could hear two voices, both low and ancient, speaking._

 _"What shall we do with him, Brother?"_

 _"The Earth Mother wants to keep him alive. She said that he will be bait for the children of prophecy."_

 _Nico sucked in a breath. He was going to be the reason why the others got killed. No… no, he didn't want to watch anyone die again! He pounded on the walls of his prison, screaming and begging to be let out. He heard loud laughter from outside and felt the adrenaline leave his body._

 _"Just wait, spawn of Hades. You will be joining them soon."_

* * *

Jason woke up to screaming.

He immediately bolted up and reached for his sword, but stopped when he realized what the source of the screaming was. Nico was crying and thrashing on the bed, shivering and looking like a terrified child. Jason rushed over and shook him gently, trying to rouse him from his sleep.

"Nico! Nico, wake up!" he pleaded.

"No no no no, let me go let me go, I'm sorry don't hurt me let me go…" Nico sobbed as he thrashed harder, nearly catching Jason in the face. Luckily, Jason had good reflexes and quickly moved out of the way. Jason shook him harder and finally sighed in relief when Nico's eyes opened.

But Nico's eyes were still glazed over and glassy. The son of Hades looked around quickly, his breathing coming in sharp pants. Jason didn't know what Nico was seeing, but when Nico buried his head in his knees and screamed, he knew that he had to do something.

"Nico! Nico, look at me!"

"C-Can't… breathe…" Nico gasped out, his chest rising and falling rapidly. Jason cursed. If Nico didn't calm down soon, he was going to pass out. "C-Can't see… H-Help…"

Jason moved to touch Nico's face, only for his hands to pass through his cheeks. He drew back in shock before steeling himself and trying again.

This time, Nico was solid under Jason's touch.

"Nico. Look at me. Do you recognize me?" he said as calmly as possible.

"D-Don't… wanna die…"

"Nico, please. Concentrate on my voice. _Listen to me_."

"I—I…"

"You aren't in Tartarus. You aren't in the bronze jar. You're with me, in the Zeus cabin at Camp Half-Blood. Do you know who I am?"

"Ja—Jason…?" Nico asked haltingly. Jason breathed out a sigh of relief. Nico was slowly coming out of his panic attack.

"Yes. Yes, that's right, Nico." Slowly, he brought Nico's right hand to his chest. "Can you feel my breathing, Nico? Try to match me. Breathe in, breathe out."

Nico took gasping and shuddering breaths, attempting to match the pace that Jason set. The son of Jupiter had no idea what time it was, nor how much time had passed since he had woken up, but that didn't matter as he held on to Nico and listened to him breathe. When the younger boy's shoulders slumped and he pulled away from Jason, the blond was almost sorry to let him go.

"I'm sorry I woke you up," Nico muttered.

Jason shook his head. "Don't apologise for this. How often does this happen?" Nico avoided his gaze and stared at the bed. "Nico…"

"Every other night, if not every night," Nico admitted. Jason cursed.

"Gods of Rome, Nico! You should've told me! You were _fading_ on me tonight! Do you realise how terrifying that was, holding you in my arms, afraid that you would disappear into nothing?!"

"What could I have told you? 'Hey Jason, I can't sleep every night because I dream about Tartarus!' Or how about 'Hi Jason, I have recurring panic attacks at night and wake up screaming'?!" Nico shouted.

"I could've helped you, Nico!"

"How?!" he roared. Jason fell silent and watched as angry tears streamed down Nico's cheeks. It wasn't even half an hour ago that those cheeks had had no substance. "How can you help me, Jason? You don't know about what I've been through! You won't understand! No one will!" Then, in a much quieter voice, he continued, "I'm too broken, Jason. You can't fix me, no matter how much of a hero you are."

"You're right," Jason answered, his voice soft. "I won't ever be able to understand. I haven't lived a life with an older sister, yes, Percy told me about Bianca, only to have her die. I haven't gone through half the emotions that you have. I haven't walked through Tartarus alone. I haven't been held captive by a primordial goddess and starved and dehydrated for days on end. I haven't had to be alone like you had." Jason reached forward to touch Nico's knee, only for him to jerk away violently. "I just want you to be happy, Nico. I want you to be able to live without anything weighing you down, including your memories. I thought that maybe if you shared them with me, your burden would lessen."

Nico was at a loss. No one had ever offered to do something like that before. Was he dreaming? Was Jason Grace just a very handsome, very kind figment of his imagination? He shuffled uncomfortably and avoided eye contact with the ex-praetor. If he looked up now and saw Jason's soft smile and kind eyes, he would have a whole new problem; one that he had already suffered enough from.

"Nico… would it help if I slept with you?"

Nico's head shot up in surprise, doing exactly what he hadn't wanted to do. See Jason's face. The roman's clear blue eyes reminded Nico of the sky on a sunny day. The worry etched on Jason's face had no place there. Immediately, Nico felt guilty for putting it there.

"What?" he whispered, partially as an answer for the question and partially for a reason that Nico refused to admit.

Jason shrugged. "I know that when Piper has nightmares sometimes, we fall asleep hugging for the night and tomorrow she feels much better. I'm wondering if the same thing applies to you."

Nico was sure his cheeks were on fire right now. "I-I…"

Jason seemed to realise what he had said because his cheeks also flared a bright red. "I m-mean, if you want to keep your space, that's fine but I just thought that… you know… umm…"

"Umm…" Nico stammered out. Both boys awkwardly avoided each other's gazes. After a few moments, Jason moved to Nico's bed and lay down.

"If you don't want to, push me away," he said. Nico made no movement. Jason let out a breath of relief and patted the mattress. "Come on, Nico. Come back to bed."

Slowly and with stiff movements, Nico laid back down, his back to Jason. The blond hesitantly wrapped his arms around Nico's frame. The son of Hades tensed for a moment before softly exhaling and relaxing. Softly, almost soft enough that Jason couldn't hear him, Nico said,

"Thank you, Jason."

Jason moved to respond, only to find Nico's breathing even and already whisked away into Hypnos' realm.

* * *

Jason woke up to something tickling his chin. Blinking the sleep out his eyes, he tried to remember what had happened last night.

Right. Nico had had a nightmare.

Looking down, he found the younger demigod curled up facing him. He guessed that Nico had rolled around at some point last night. Jason watched Nico breathe. He remembered thinking that Nico was cute while he was napping. He now needed to correct that judgement. Nico was _angelic_ while asleep. The young innocence was obvious on the Italian's face and the dark hair framed Nico's pale skin like a black halo. Forget a child of the Underworld, if Jason didn't know any better, he would've pegged Nico for a child of Aphrodite. He ran his hand through Nico's hair and watched as his eye twitched. Jason quickly retracted his hand just as Nico's eyes opened. They were bleary with sleep, but the second he realized what position he was in, Nico flushed red enough to rival the interior of the Aphrodite cabin.

"Morning, Nico," Jason smiled. Nico ducked his head and mumbled out an answer.

 _Cute_ , Jason thought, before mentally slapping himself. _You have a girlfriend, Jason_ , he told himself. _A beautiful, loyal and brave girlfriend._

"How did you sleep?" he asked as he moved away from Nico.

"I didn't have nightmares…" Nico said. Jason beamed at him and Nico swore he was looking at the sun.

"That's great! Looks like the hugging worked!"

Nico blushed again and the tiny voice in Jason's head chimed in.

 _Adorable_.

Jason shook his head again. Nico watched on, concerned.

"Jason? What's wrong?" he asked, his voice small. Jason blinked and could see the son of Hades watching him with apprehension. He almost looked like a kicked puppy. Jason then realized that Nico thought that he was put off by the nightmares. He quickly pulled the younger into a tight hug.

"It's nothing about you. I'm glad you got a good night's sleep. You deserve it." Nico tensed in his arms before wrapping his arms around Jason, albeit shakily. Jason grinned into Nico's hair. He was finally opening up to Jason.

The two pulled away and Jason quickly apologized for hugging him without warning. Nico scratched the back of his head.

"You already held me for an entire night, I don't think you need to ask permission to touch me anymore." Jason perked up at that.

"Really?"

Nico nodded uncertainly before being pulled into a bear hug and lifted into the air. He looked down to see Jason laughing whole heartedly and allowed himself a small smile.

Maybe opening up to Jason Grace wasn't a bad idea.

He would just have to watch himself.

* * *

Nico's plan of watching himself was shot to Tartarus pretty quickly.

It had only been a day since the nightmare incident, but that was already enough to screw Nico over. The more time he spent with Jason, the more he found himself falling for the roman hero. The two had gotten extremely close, even closer than Nico was with Hazel and while Nico loved not being shunned like he was the scum of the earth, he found it increasingly difficult to hold back his feelings. He was falling hard for Jason and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

On the bright side, he was significantly happier— which really wasn't saying much— but everyone around him noticed it. Percy had even pointed out that he seemed more like his ten year old self, which he promptly strangled the son of Poseidon for. Jason had laughed at their antics and Nico had had to turn away to hide his blush.

At night, he and Jason had settled into the routine of sleeping in each other's embrace. It was something Nico both looked forward to and dreaded. He was in such close vicinity to Jason and yet it felt like the son of Jupiter was miles away from him. But he refused to pursue Jason any further than friendship.

He had already been down that road once before and would like to avoid it at all costs.

* * *

Jason was feeling… very _conflicted_ for lack of a better word.

He liked hanging out with Piper, _his girlfriend_ , and yet he found himself looking forward to seeing Nico every day. The son of Hades was mesmerizing. He was funny, cute, snarky and intelligent. Jason found himself feeling upset that he hadn't gotten to know the boy earlier.

He and Nico were making their way back to Cabin One from breakfast when they say a girl standing in front of it. Surprisingly, it was Piper. And she didn't look happy. Nico glanced up at his best friend, his gaze questioning, only for him to look away… guiltily?

"Jason? Can we talk?" Piper asked. Jason didn't respond verbally and only gestured for her to lead the way. Nico watched them go, not entirely understanding what was going on.

"I think we should break up," Piper said.

Jason blinked. That was much more forward than he had expected.

"I think you know why," she continued. "It's been over a week and we haven't talked at all. I could pass by you and you wouldn't notice if you were with Nico."

"Pipes…" Jason choked out, his voice laced with guilt and shame. She shook her head with a sad smile.

"I love you, Jason. But if you love things, you let them go."

"Piper… For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

The daughter of Aphrodite gave him a weak smile. "I'll be ok in a while. You really love Nico, don't you?"

Jason didn't know how to answer that. "I feel… what I used to feel for you," was all he could say. Piper gave him a teary smile.

"Go get him, Jason. You've got a daughter of Aphrodite on your side."

* * *

Nico sat inside Jason's cabin, waiting for his friend to return. When he heard the door open, he turned, expecting to see Jason but was greeted by another Roman.

"Reyna," he said, surprised. "Jason is talking with Piper if you need him."

The brunette shook her head. "Hazel and I need to return to Camp Jupiter. But before we leave, I need to ask you something, Nico."

"Yes?"

"Do you have feelings for Jason?"

All the colour drained from Nico's pale face. Was he that obvious? Did Jason know? Did he hate Nico?

"What makes you say that?" he whispered, mind teetering dangerously close to a panic attack.

"Because I see the way you look at him," Reyna answered, looking gentler than Nico had ever seen her. "And because I see the way he looks at you."

Wait.

What?

"Reyna… Jason is straight. He has a _girlfriend_. A beautiful, strong and charming _girl_ friend. He doesn't like me like that."

"Oh Nico. If only you saw how he looked at you. Jason definitely has feelings for you. The question is, do you have feelings for him?"

Quietly, just loud enough so Reyna could hear, Nico answered, "Yes."

Reyna strode across the room and brought him into a one armed hug. "Let yourself be happy, Nico. You've done so much for so long; you deserve this bit of happiness."

* * *

Nico was sitting inside of Jason's cabin when he returned. The blond closed the door quietly behind him and stared at the black haired boy sitting on his bed.

Should he tell him?

Would Nico hate him?

Did Nico even like him? He just tolerated Jason up until a little while ago. Sure they had become friends, but this was definitely asking for too much.

But he owed as much to Piper to at least confess.

"Hey, Nico," Jason called, wiping his sweaty palms against his purple SPQR shirt. Nico turned to Jason and gave him a gentle smile.

"Hey, Jason. What did Piper need?" Gods, Jason wasn't going to last long if Nico was going to smile at him like that.

"Piper broke up with me," he managed, each word sounding like a nail in his coffin. This was all going to come crashing down on his head. True to his expectations, Nico's jaw dropped almost comically.

"She what?" he demanded.

"Piper broke up with me."

" _Why?!_ Is she out of her mind?"

Jason gulped. Moment of truth.

"She broke up with me because I fell for someone else."

Silence, just as Jason had feared.

When he steeled himself to look up at Nico, the son of Hades was staring at him, bewildered.

"But… you two were happy, weren't you?" he asked softly.

Jason shook his head. "We were and Piper will always be special to me, but we just didn't click anymore."

Nico seemed to accept that answer. Jason was about to chicken out of his confession when Nico asked, "Who was it?"

Jason's brain did the obvious thing: shut down.

"Who was what?"

"Who was the one you fell for?"

"Nico…"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I was just curious."

"You," Jason blurted out before he could stop himself.

The cabin went deathly silent. Jason watched as Nico's expression changed from harmless curiosity to fear, confusion and denial.

"Y-You're straight," Nico stammered out.

Jason shook his head. He might as well finish what he started. "I'm bisexual I guess. I like you, Nico."

"No… no, there's no way. You can't like me!" Nico shouted.

"Why not?!" Jason demanded. "You're funny, you're cute and you're so incredibly kind, Nico. You're a better person than a lot of other people. I don't care if you're the son of Hades or if you've walked through Tartarus. I _like_ you. Gods, I like you so much."

"Do you want to know why you can't like me, Jason Grace?!" Nico asked, his voice rising. "It's because I'm none of those things! I'm nothing but a murderer!"

For the umpteenth time, all movement in the cabin stilled. Jason shook his head, not understanding, while Nico backed up against the wall, looking exactly like a deer caught in headlights.

"Nico?" Jason asked softly. "What do you mean?"

"I—I…!" The shadows drew closer to the son of Hades and only too late did Jason realise what was happening.

"Nico, don't!" he shouted as he lunged forward, reaching for Nico's hand.

"Please don't hate me," Nico sobbed just before he disappeared, no more than an inch away from Jason's grasp. The son of Jupiter let out a frustrated yell and listened to it echo off the walls, feeling more lost and confused than he could ever remember.

* * *

"Hazel! Hazel!" Nico shouted as he banged on her cohort's door. Almost immediately after his banging started, the door opened to reveal his concerned sister.

"Nico? What's wrong, big brother?"

"Jason… Jason…!"

"Nico! You're fading!" True to her word, when Nico looked down, his feet were starting to go translucent. He looked up at Hazel pleadingly and she quickly ushered him into the building. He didn't mean to—maybe it was the emotional strain combined with the fatigue from shadow travelling across the country—but the second they entered Hazel's room, the world spun and faded to black. The last thing he heard was his sister screaming for someone to get Reyna.

* * *

Jason ran around Camp Half Blood, searching desperately for Nico. He had seen the raw fear on the younger demigod's face and was afraid that the sudden shock would cause him to fade again.

He had searched every cabin—that had allowed him to look through— and had went through the forest, the beach, the rock climbing wall and even asked Chiron at the Big House. But Nico wasn't anywhere at camp.

Just as he was about to run and ask Percy if he had seen Nico, the air in front of him shimmered and revealed the face of one Roman praetor. And she did not look happy.

"Reyna! Hey, I'm sorry, but I'm sort of in a rush…"

"What did you do to Nico?" she asked, effectively cutting him off.

"Where is he?" Jason asked, ignoring her question.

"My answer will depend on yours."

Jason sighed and carded his fingers through his hair. "I confessed that I liked him."

If Reyna was surprised, she didn't show it. "And?"

"We started fighting because he said that I couldn't like him because he was a murderer. What did he mean?" Jason mumbled the last bit to himself.

He however, distracted as he was with thoughts of Nico's safety, did not miss the pursing of Reyna's lips.

"Reyna… you know what he means." It wasn't a question.

The daughter of Bellona sighed. "I'm not sure that I'm in a position to say, Jason."

"Please, Reyna. I want to understand what he meant."

A silent conversation passed through the two before Reyna sighed once more. "This stays between the two of us until Nico is comfortable talking about it."

"Of course."

Jason received a ghost of a smile from Reyna before she launched into her story. She started from the talk that she and Nico had had about their fathers and ended with when Pegasus arrived to transport the Athena Parthenos. All the while, Jason listened attentively.

At the end, he was at a loss for words.

"Reyna… what he did was…" Jason trailed off, still shocked by what Nico had done.

"Do you condemn him for it?" Reyna asked, and Jason didn't miss the protective undertones her voice had.

"No! Gods, no. Bryce was a criminal and should never have been allowed back into the Legion. It was Octavian's fault that he was even a part of the war."

"If Nico hadn't done what he had, what do you think would have happened? I would have been taken back on account of war crimes and the statue never would have gotten to camp. Gaea would have risen and the world as we know it would have ended."

"Reyna…"

"I won't argue with you about this, Jason. It was necessary and it was self-defense. Bryce attacked first and that's the only reason why Nico did what he did."

"We were also at war… Demigods die all the time during conflict," Jason said.

Reyna nodded in agreement. "Bryce was initially supposed to face a death sentence for killing his centurion. In a way, it's like he finally got what was coming for him, no matter how grim that sounds."

Jason frowned. "What does Nico think of all of this?"

"Obviously, he thinks that it was his fault and that what he did was monstrous. Nico has suffered for so long he doesn't believe himself worthy of redemption or forgiveness, not that he needs any," Reyna replied, her tone sad.

Jason looked at her, determined. "Reyna, is he there? At Camp Jupiter?"

"I heard him banging on the Fifth Cohort's door, screaming for Hazel. From what I gather, he was also fading from his feet."

Jason's chest felt tight with guilt. "Is he…?"

"He passed out but woke up a little while ago. Hazel and I managed to get him to drink some unicorn draught. It helped the last time this happened."

Jason breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the gods…"

"Are you going to come see him?"

"Yeah. Can I?"

"I would make it snappy, Grace."

"Got it. I'll be there in an hour or so."

* * *

Jason dismounted Tempest and sent the horse on its way. He was lucky that the ventus was willing to let Jason ride him when he needed it. He entered Camp Jupiter without any trouble, given that the two guards on duty recognized him immediately and let him through. He made his way to the Fifth Cohort's barracks when he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He turned, expecting Reyna, only to be greeted by Hazel.

"Hazel! It's good to see you."

"Likewise. Nico is in Reyna's villa. She thought you two would appreciate the privacy."

"Yeah. I'll make sure to thank her."

The two fell in step and an awkward and heavy silence hung in the air between them. Hazel walked with him up to Reyna's doorstep before stopping.

"Jason. I love my brother more than anything. You know that," she said.

"Of course, Hazel," Jason answered.

"Then you'll know that if you ever do anything to hurt him, you're going to answer to me and Reyna, right?"

Jason gulped. The earth rumbled beneath him and he knew that Hazel was deadly serious.

"I would never hurt him intentionally, Hazel," he promised. The tremors stopped and Hazel gave him one last penetrating stare before smiling.

"Good. Frank and I are having a picnic. If you and my brother have made up, you can join us for lunch there." With that, she turned and walked away. Jason let out a breath that he hadn't known he was holding.

Note to self: Don't anger Hazel Levesque.

* * *

Jason knocked on the door and wasn't surprised to find it open quickly. He stepped inside, greeting Reyna and thanking her but the daughter of Bellona only smiled before leading him into the living room.

"Nico! Someone is here for you!"

"Hazel, I'm not hungry!" Nico's voice sounded out from the other room which made Jason's heart skip a beat. They rounded the corner just as Nico looked up from whatever he had been looking at only to find himself staring at the person he was avoiding.

"Oh," he said quietly. Immediately, the shadows in the room darkened and reached for their master.

"Nico di Angelo, don't you dare run!" Jason shouted. Like magic, the shadows froze and slunk back to their original positions. Nico, however, did not look any less panicked.

"I'll leave you two to talk," Reyna said. The boys heard the door open and close behind her and both watched her figure retreat into the distance.

"So…" Jason began. Nico flinched as if expecting to be hit. Jason frowned and slowly crossed the room as if approaching a frightened animal. "Reyna told me what happened."

The effect was instantaneous.

Nico whirled around to face Jason, his eyes wide and vulnerable. Jason quickly brought the smaller boy into a loose hug.

"I don't hate you. I don't care what you did. Gods, Nico I just want to be with you."

"But I…"

"No. You weren't wrong in what you did. It was war and Octavian never should have sent Bryce after you. He was supposed to have died in his trial. If anything, you delivered justice."

Nico trembled against him. "You don't think I'm a monster, do you?"

"Never," Jason assured.

The two stayed like that, curled up against each other before Jason broke the silence.

"So, Nico… you never did give me any sort of answer. I like you. Do you like me?" Jason asked as he dipped his head down to look at the boy in his arms. Nico's cheeks were flushed red as he mumbled an answer and honestly, it was the most adorable thing that Jason had ever seen.

"I do."

"Will you be my boyfriend then, Nico?"

"Yes," Nico replied, still blushing.

Jason laughed with relief before leaning down and whispering, "Then can I kiss you?"

If possible, the son of Hades' cheeks turned an even brighter red. "Mmhmm."

And so Jason did and it was the best thing he had done all day.

* * *

Hazel and Reyna were laughing at something that Frank had said when the two sons of the Big Three had arrived at the picnic. Nico took a seat beside Hazel and Jason took a seat next to him and Frank.

"So… did you sort everything out?" Hazel asked.

Nico smiled and kissed her cheek. "Yeah. We're good now."

"More than good, actually," Jason chimed in and Nico blushed before hitting him lightly on the hand. Jason laughed and leaned forward to grab a sandwich. Reyna watched the two with knowing eyes and smiled. Nico returned her smile and poured himself a glass of water. Sitting here in the sun with his sister, his _boyfriend_ and his friends was definitely not something he could see himself doing a year ago. Heck, he sometimes had trouble imagining it now. Even sitting at this picnic, smiling and throwing in his occasional two cents into the conversation, he was sure he was going to screw something up. But that was ok. Because Nico had people who he loved and who loved him.

Jason reached over and covered his hand with his and gave Nico a smile. Nico smiled back and relaxed under his boyfriend's warm touch and for the first time in a long time, he realized, he was content right where he was.

* * *

 **Welp, that's that. Hope you enjoyed it! Leave a review!**


End file.
